Saddam: Iraq not linked to al Qaida

Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has denied that Baghdad had any connection with al Qaida or its leader Osama bin Laden and that Iraq would set fire to its oil fields and blow up its dams in response to a U.S.-led invasion. “Iraq does not burn its wealth and it does not destroy its dams,” he told CBS News anchor Dan Rather in a three-hour interview to be aired Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. EST on the network’s 60 Minutes II program. He added: “We hope, however, that this question is not meant as an insinuation, so that the Iraqi dams and the Iraqi oil wells will be destroyed by those who will invade Iraq in their possible invasion of the country.” During the interview, when asked if he intended to destroy Al-Samoud 2 missiles as called for the chief U.N. arms inspector Hans Blix, Saddam said: “Our commitment is to abide, to comply with the 1441 resolution and to apply it. As you know Iraq is allowed to manufacture land to land rockets as per the resolution of the United Nations.” U.N. Security Council Resolution 1441, passed Nov. 7, called for Iraq to disarm or face “serious consequences.” Full Story

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